Roof bow for a closed vehicle body



June 25, 1940. H. c. WENDT ROOF BOW FOR A CLOSED VEHICLE BODY Filed Nov. 28, 1938 I ul vlllk.

IN VENTOR.

I l I Illlllllllllll l l l I I l I l l I l I I I l l l I I l I l BY HERBZ'ET C Wzwor ATTORNEY.

Patented June 25, 1940 iii rear Io FicE .aoor Bow role A Cross!) VEHIGLE'BOD'Y Herbert G. Wendt, Wilson, N. 0., assignor to Hackney Brothers Body Company,

Wilson,

N. 0., a corporation of North vCarolina ApplicationNovember ZS, 1938, Serial No. 242,689

[3 Claims. (01. 29s 137) This invention relates to a skeletonizedrigi-d frame structure for closed vehicle bodies, and more particularly pertains to a deck sustaining trusswork of the permanent type comprising one or more novel bows of sheet metal that are infi l--- tially formed independently of the roof sheath ing and the ends of which bows are respectively upheld by mated posts or standards preferably but not necessarily arranged to drain a supported bow of drip or other collected moisture. The body interior is thereby maintained in a non-leaky condition, although the abutting edges of an unlined sectionalized deck sheath are superimposed centrally lengthwise over such bow and the sheath joint may not remain entirely water tight after protracted usage.v

A structural aspect of the present all-metal bow resides in its upturned channelled profile shape of which bow,the flanges and interconmeeting web are kept imperforateto render the same impervious to moisture; A bridge strip preferably of screw penetrable sheetmetal, fixedly spans and is inset from the mouth region of my channelled bow in substantial parallelism with its web to constitute a partitioned or com;

partmental bow. To complete a sealed weatherproof sheath joint, a packed or calked shield strip overlies a pair of adjacent sheath edges. 'Such edges may respectively be crimped "downwardly into. drip lips or otherwise indented to leave a space therebetween through which to enter a series of closely pitched screws that are threaded into the interposed bridge strip and which concealed threads are trapped against drip by the drained underlying imperforate web of my bow.

Because of unremittent body weave and the sitating any. extensive modification in bow dis- 1 position over that now commonly resorted to in 50 conventional body framework practice.

Embodied herein are also other features of structure and arrangement of deck renforcements designed to facilitate the effective application of my bows to vehicle bodies, all of which 55 will hereinafter be set forth in detail.

I Fig; c

Fig. 7 depicts a modified styleof stiffening rib '20 Reference is had to the accompanying one it; sheet of drawings which illustratea preferred exemplification of my deck supporting devices, and in which:

. Fig. l fragmentally represents asectionalized H5 elevationalview of a forward'longltu-dinal portion of my improved framework and its sustained deck arranged to house a closed van or the like vehicle body equipped with the aforesaid improved bow. g K

Fig. 2 is a floor planview taken along 22 of Fig. 1; while Fig.3 shows a transverse elevational section taken along 3-3of Fig. 1.

Fig, i-shows across-sectional bow assembly as seen along i4 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5' depicts a 15 similar, view-showing a telescopic-bow connection with its side post taken along 5-5 of Fig.1.

'Fig. 6 details a sectional view along 6-6 of for my deck sheath,

'Pteferringmore specifically to these disclosures; my body framework may rest upon a pair of conventional chassisbeamsjsuch as Ill and it having. interposed therebetween a series 25 of laterally spaced floor bearing or cross sills such as ilZA, I213, etc., that may be secured to the chassis beams by 'J-bolts' 34; in the usual manner. Erected adjacent to the respective sill ends are separate sheet metal side posts such as 30 4311433, also mated intermediate posts MA and securely anchored to the forward sill 12A by I gusset plates suchas 20. A windshield sill beam 2i and a forward transverse deck beam ZZ may be disposed'to span the posts 18A and I8Bin parallelism. A conventional cowl -(not shown) may project forwardly of the frontal body face H and be attached beneath said sill beam in a spanning relation to the windshield posts.

. As indicatedin Fig. 1, the respective lowerfends of the windshield'postsas well as the corresponding open ends of the side posts or jambs BA posed therebetween,

and |3B may be extended beneath the floor level to uphold the respective step well platforms. All of the several side posts may be given a crosssectionally channel shape of the kind depicted in Fig. 6, having the channel web 23 disposed inwardly toward the longitudinal center line of the body. The mouth region of each such sheet metal post may or may not be bridged by an insert filler strip 24 that partially fills the channel interior and is securely fastened therein to leave a vertical space or drain duct 25 that is kept open to freely discharge beneath the floor level.

The respective upper ends of adjacent side posts may be laterally interlocked by sectionalized tie rails such as 26 that may be carried incline-dly forward to the deck beam 22. The lower post region may also be laterally braced by base rails such as 21. A separately formed arched rib or compartmental deck bow of sheet metal such as 28A, 283, etc., bridges each pair of mated side posts, said bows being preferably cross-sectionally channel shaped to include an imperforate web as in Fig. '4. If desired, such posts and bow may be fabricated integrally as a single member. The channel mouth of said how portion is upturned and the imperforate channel flanges such as 29 may be interiorly spanned by a fixedly inset sheet metal trough or the like screw penetrable bridge strip 33 that may be spac'edly spot welded or otherwise fastened in place at 3| to leave a protective primary drain chamber 32 therebeneath. A like result may be had when such trough strip is reversely mounted. A complementary drain chamber 33 preferably but not necessarily extends lengthwisev above said partition strip as shown. It is expedient to keep my sheet metal bridge strip 30 somewhat thinner than the bow flanges to facilitate entrance of the self-tapping screws 44, but such strip need not extend continuously along the entire bow web since spaced sectional strip components would serve a. like purpose. Each such bridge strip component is herein arranged to receive a. plurality of such screws and because of its uniform thinness, said strip is particularly adapted to be easily and firmly welded to the commensurate bow flanges 29.

Superimposed deck Sheathing may be arranged in any suitable manner. Reversely disposed deck corner sheaths 36 and 31 of sheet metal may be resorted to and these respectively extend rearwardly from the center line of the first bow 28A toward the rear end of the deck. A

single or multiple crown sheath '38 may span the inner edges of said corner sheaths and be secured in leakproof fashion along an upstanding cleated seam such as 39 (see Fig. 3), which joint also provides for a certain degree of compensation against sheath contraction with change in temperature. A continuous stiffening strip or stringer cap 40 of flanged V-shaped profile may also be welded or otherwise fastened exteriorly river and transversely beyond a plurality of bows without interference to augment the inherent stiffness of the'deck sheaths against drum effect and thereby mitigate body rumble. In the Fig. 7 detail, the bifurcated stiffening rib of rolled strip stock is crosssectionally creased into channel shape to include opposed edge flanges that may run medially lengthwise of the crown sheath in stringer fashion and have strip packing intersaid flanges being here spacedly bolted or riveted in place as indicated at 45A without having any upstanding seam 39 capped therein.

Both the transverse forward and rear ends of such seamed crown and corner sheaths may respectively be adjoined to a different vizor sheath such as 4|. For this purpose, the dished inner edge of each such one-piece tail sheath may be down turned into a depending drip lip 43 as in Fig. 4. The respective edges of the intermediate sheaths 36, 31 and 38 may each be likewise equipped with corresponding lips 42 and kept laterally spaced from the lip 43. Said lip space in addition to affording a limited yield between adjacent sheath edges, also provides clearance for a series of closely pitched screw fasteners 44, preferably of the self-tapping Parker-Kalon type adapted to form its own thread in sheet metal when forcibly entered through the imperforate bridge strip 30 of the bow, as shown. If desired, said partition strip or the channel flanges 29 may be shaped to provide for reversely outturned brimlike wings that are shown by dotted outline in Fig. 4 and arranged to supplement the seal against leakage on part of the superimposed sheaths. The aforesaid drip lips are however, non-essential expedients and as a substitute, one or more of such deck sheaths may be abutted and locally indented or apertured to receive the plural screws 44. A suitable shield strip 46 overlappingly bridges adjoining sheath edges in weatherproofing fashion, and alignedly extends lengthwise of the underlying bridge strip 30.

A soft gasket 41 may serve to pack the shield strip, the several screws 44 being passed through apertures in the last named strip and snugly forced through its shield packing 41 to substantially seal the respective screw heads. Said screws are closely distributed along the entire length of the shield strip 46 to maintain a tight weatherproof joint for the sealed sheath seam.

It is preferred to laterally brace the crown region of the respective bows by a centralized sectional tie bar 52 that may extend forwardly into engagement with the deck beam 22.

The respective bow ends may be telescopically embraced within the upper confines of a different body post, said bow ends to facilitate economical manufacture and handling are however, preferably made to serve as a socketed sleeve disposed over a body post top in the Fig. 5 manner. When welded in place at 48, such unitary structure makes a water tight drain joint. Likewise. a baffle 49 may without interior leakage, be used to divert drip into the open top end of the erected side post for delivery to the drained bottom end region thereof. The post filler strip 24 may be extended upwardly into the mouth of the depending bow end and have a screw 44 fastened to retain the lower edge of the corner sheath 35, in which event each transverse sheath seam may be extended to overlap the telescopcd region of my bow ends and their supporting side posts. Abutting the last named edge is a side plate 50 whose joint may be overlappingly closed by the longitudinal moulding 5!. As will be understood, the intent is to initially build up a skeletonized bow and post structure, and then apply separate sheathing thereto. The rear end structure (not shown) of my body framework may have wheel housings inbuilt therein but otherwise may be kept substantially similar to its front end except that this is usually fully enclosed by rear end sheaths without need of any step well or windshield.

It will be observed that the numerous screw holes pierced through the inset bridge 30 may not be entirely leakproof, particularly so in the event that its engaged screws should work loose in service. The underlying primary bow chamber 32 is arranged to catch any such drip and drain the same' into one or the other of its side post ducts 25. The supplementary bow chamber 33 likewise drains into the same ducts. Such disposition together with the use of imperforate encasing channel walls, prevents accumulation of water Within my compartmental bows. The use of twin drain bow passageways is primarily intended to doubly insure against drip entering the body interior should both the shield strip and the screw threads become leaky.

My brace struts 19A and NB cooperate in reenforcing the frontal body structure against sag or whip and otherwise steady the vizor sheath 4! against separation with respect to its crown sheath joint when subjected to road jars. Each intermediate bow 283 may be constructed similarly to the first bow 28A except that its superimposed sheaths, being continuous, would be devoid of any depending lips such as 42. Said intermediate bow is also shown devoid of a shield strip and otherwise modified, since a packing washer for the screw head would suffice for such need. In certain instances, the same style of structure may also be applied to side posts, tie rails or the like body framework components where a waterproofed sheath joint is desired.

The foregoing disclosure will, it is believed.

make apparent to those skilled in this art, the more outstanding structural advantages afforded by my improved body framework, it being understood that various equivalent changes in the illustrative embodiment thereof may be resorted to, all without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention heretofore described and more specifically defined in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. A Vehicle body comprising a skeletonized framework erected upon a plurality of chassis.

ends are respectively upheld bysaid side posts, said bow having a cross-sectionally channel-shaped profile including a pair of imperforate flanges and an interconnecting imperforate web with the channel mouth turned outwardly, a continuous sheet metal bridge strip fixedly carried between the bow flanges in an inset substantially parallel relation to the mouth region thereof and spacedly extending lengthwise over said web, an attached sectionalized deck sheath extending rearwardly from said deck beam and which sheath is provided with a seam disposed lengthwise over the bow mouth, a shield strip overlappingly superimposed upon said seam, and a series of selftapping screw fasteners entered inwardly through said shield strip and into threaded engagement with the bridge strip without piercing said imperforate web, the aforesaid brace struts serving to steady said sheath against seam separation and thereby protect said seam against drip continuously therealong, an attached sectional-' ized sheath of which a seam extends lengthwise over the channel mouth, an apertured shield strip overlappingly superimposed to protect said seam against drip leakage, and a series of selftaping screws entered inwardly through said apertured shield strip and into threaded engagement with the aforesaid bridge strip, said screws being spacedly distributed along the entire length of the last named strip and the tips of which entered screws are wholly concealed within the bow confines.

3. A deck bow having a cross-sectionally channel-shaped profile to include a pair of imperforate flanges and an imperforate interconnecting web with the channel mouth turned outwardly, a continuous bridge strip affixedly carried between the bow flanges in an inset relation to the channel mouth region and in spaced relation from said web, attached metallic sheath means extending lengthwise over and spanningly closing the bow mouth, and a series of self-tapping screw fasteners distributed intermediate the bridge strip ends and serving to clamp the sheath means toward said web, the respective fasteners being entered inwardly through the sheath means into threaded engagement with the bridge strip, the respective screw tips terminating beyond the bridge strip without piercing the imperforate web.

HERBERT C. WENDT. 

